1. Attachments are working again! Check out this thread for more details and to report any other bugs.

Generation One Prius 12 Volt Battery

Discussion in 'Generation 1 Prius Discussion' started by DrummerDave, Jul 16, 2022.

  1. DrummerDave

    DrummerDave Junior Member

    Joined:
    Apr 7, 2017
    7
    0
    0
    Location:
    Asheville NC
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    II
    Has anyone had success using a lawnmower battery as a replacement for the auxiliary battery?

    If so do you have a recommendation?

    Many thanks,

    David
     
  2. Tombukt2

    Tombukt2 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Nov 29, 2020
    8,262
    1,433
    0
    Location:
    Durham NC
    Vehicle:
    2009 Prius
    Model:
    Base
    It's not an auxiliary battery that's your 12 volt battery for all of your 12 volt items in your 12 volt car lights horn gauges the whole nine The auxiliary battery in our Prius is to me really is the hybrid battery because all it does is operate motor generators and get charged by motor generators and sit there The 12 volt battery has to run everything in the car all the computers all of it so it needs to be constantly being charged by a source which is the constant 13 to 14 and 1/2 volts coming off the inverter circuit to charge that 12 volt whenever the car is ready. What folks have had good luck with is the universal battery type things that go in alarm system industrial maintenance equipment power lifts you can buy a battery similar AH rating AGM and all that for almost half the price of the fancy interstate AGM top of the line car battery there are some trade-offs to me they're not really worth discussing but if you wanted to carry thing to the nth degree you could do that. Good luck with your choices I run a UB type battery in the back of an '09 and I've had zero problems I went through a few interstate AGM car batteries pretty swiftly
     
  3. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 30, 2008
    23,389
    15,158
    0
    Location:
    Indiana, USA
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    IV
    "Auxiliary battery" is the name Toyota uses for the 12 volt battery. The big, higher voltage one is the "traction battery", or simply the "HV battery".

    There could be terms that seem "to me" to mean something different, but when we're talking about Prii and using the common terms, it wouldn't help for me to use them in a private different way.
     
  4. Tombukt2

    Tombukt2 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Nov 29, 2020
    8,262
    1,433
    0
    Location:
    Durham NC
    Vehicle:
    2009 Prius
    Model:
    Base
    I was just saying that in terms of use the 12 volt seems to have a lot more uses that are necessary to the car running gas motor ignition system all of that versus the hybrid battery that just runs a motor charges the 12 volt battery and that's about it I think I wouldn't change it around it just seems to me the 12 volt is not as auxiliary as it seems to. Sounds like it starts the gen set out in the yard when the power goes out. Rarely.
     
  5. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 30, 2008
    23,389
    15,158
    0
    Location:
    Indiana, USA
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    IV
    In any case, when people call the 12 volt battery the auxiliary battery, they are using the correct and official name for it.
     
  6. robert mencl

    robert mencl Member

    Joined:
    Jun 27, 2014
    173
    49
    0
    Location:
    hartland me
    Vehicle:
    2002 Prius
    Model:
    I
    I have been using a lawnmower battery off and on over the last 12 years.